Become A Hypnotist: Pros & Cons

This week’s free hypnosis training lesson goes over the basic pros and cons of being a hypnotist. If you have ever wondered if this was the path for you, read below to see what you think/how you feel.

***Pros***

Money: Being a Hypnotist has been the best paying job I’ve had up-to-date. After spending my first few years only charging $300-$400/hour, I realized I began constructing a show that went beyond the basics of what many cliche hypnotists perform. Up-to-date, I typically charge over $500/hr for private/house parties & over $1000/hour for School/Company events. One of HypnoKick’s first serious students landed their first $500 client within 3 weeks of personalized 1-on-1 training with me, before landing their first $1200 client weeks later. While it was scary to raise my price as my show got better, it was also a major confidence builder knowing others saw my value & would invest accordingly to bring that experience into their lives (sometimes multiple times).

No Gimmicks: While I started in magic and still perform it here-and-there for certain party requests, I loved that hypnosis used nothing more than the human mind. As long as your volunteer(s) can listen and follow basic instructions, you’re generally good to go as far as preparing to create an awesomely memorable moment for them (in the same way that gadgets help magicians create magical moments). This was a huge plus for me. To go from expensive decks of cards & gimmicks to using nothing nothing more than my voice at the very least, it felt good to have a skill that could be utilized anywhere at anytime.

Connections: The way I’ve managed to meet/book certain clients has often times led to either great referrals to other great clients or annual bookings by the same client. I’ve also met and learned from individuals who took their hobby/passion to the next level via America’s Got Talent. These individuals can either provide life lessons/professional tips that could help benefit your skill/career or, depending on the vibe, they can become your close friend (who is also willing to help you professionally).

Search Engines: This is something taught in HypnoKick’s Street Hypnosis Training & Stage Hypnosis Training. There are literal search engines people can use to find live entertainment. Entertainers like myself pay $100’s every year to appear in these searches. This enables us to be seen by potential clients nationwide. This is part of how I land so many private (and sometimes annual) clients on a yearly basis. While the ones I’ve used/taught students to use for years are primarily for U.S. & Canadian residents searching for entertainers, HypnoKick’s trainings provide tips on how you can still acquire money and clients. So, while word-of-mouth is still one of the top forms of advertisement (as per the “connections” explanation), search engines have made entertainers’ lives easier.

Adventure: I’ve loved traveling/exploring since I was a child, so the ability to drive/fly to new locations, meet new people & gain new experiences was a bonus in my book. Between entertaining elegant 3 teir theaters, schools with large scale interactive plane simulators & seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, this career naturally comes with a call to adventure. I look forward to traveling outside the U.S. in the near future & experiencing different countries, cultures & seeing how I (let alone my craft) can fit its way into each.

Freedom: From being able to dictate my own price to choosing the type of audience I most prefer entertaining, this path has provided me the freedom I could only wish for with the typical 9-5. Granted, it took years to get to this point and I’m proud of that persistence. I’m able to wake up and choose what I’ll do that will either improve my knowledge, skills and/or life that day/week.

Impact: There’s two heads to this coin. On one side, I wasn’t aware I’d be inspiring the youth (high school & college students) to follow their personal aspirations/dreams. It’s been interesting seeing the few dedicated followers I’ve gained throughout the years & hearing how I’ve made them laugh or inspired them to follow their own passions. Additionally, there’s normally one skeptic that ends up changing their thoughts/opinions about hypnosis after seeing my performance. There’s often a student that’s either never taken part in a hypnosis show or failed to get hypnotized with a previous hypnotist at every show I perform. After each show, I always hear how I somehow managed to open them up and help them tap into themselves. They tell me this experience has helped open their eyes to their inner potential. Surprisingly, I was recently informed via email that I inspired a group of students that spoke with me post show to become psychology majors (that’s crazy)!

***Cons***

Training: This is all about how you were trained. In this day and age, many young magicians are self-taught via YouTube and Google. I consulted a young magician 3 years ago and while his execution of tricks were great, he had no flow or story line. I taught him how to help the tricks become more meaningful to the audience via a story line and what would be best to do/say at certain times for the best reactions. Similarly, I once saw a YouTube video of a hypnotist performing at a high school. He wore baggy blue jeans, a random T-shirt, sneakers and spoke to students with a rude/demanding tone throughout his show. It was difficult to watch. Not sure who he was trained by but his presentation, attitude and overall demeanor didn’t seem to get him a ton of bookings as I didn’t see a lot of performance videos from him. This is why I’m always enthusiastic about training serious aspiring hypnotists. I can see what intrigues them most and help them build an entire show around that that’s polite, makes sense, creates awe/intrigue and will make organizers hire them back. For example, my current tour is about breaking the cliche mold of stage hypnosis so I often do the opposite of what normal hypnotists would do at multiple points during my show. This has led to multiple 5 Star Reviews and re-bookings. Always make sure you respect, look up to and feel you can fully trust your mentor/consultant before investing your hard earned money in their training.

Organization: While this rarely occurs to me, I recently performed for a university where the organizers were in a frenzy. The advertising department didn’t even put posters up until 12-24 hours before the show, the sound check crew didn’t pop in until 10 minutes before performance & my check was never given to me post-show as implied on the contract. I’ve learned it’s best to be as self-contained as possible so that upon your arrival, especially if you’re running late, you’re ready to do and can help your organizers with anything they may be having difficulties with. The easier you make your organizer’s life, the happier they’ll be with you and more likely they’ll provide a raving review (if not re-book you).

Travel: The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized I’m not as much of a fan of driving very long distances as I used to be. To my immediate memory, the longest I’ve driven for a show was ~13 hours non-stop (gas/drive through stops being the exceptions). Flying can also be a pain sometimes. Between lay overs, airport management switching your gates multiple times and (depending on the time of day/year) the flood of people present at that airport. There was once I pushed myself a little too hard and, upon my driving back home, I began hallucinating things in the middle of the road at night. I pulled over and for the first time (to my memory), I actually leaned my seat back to nap for a bit. I’ll admit, however, I still have a tendency to push myself further than I should at times, so this may not apply to some the way it does to me.

Mental Health: This is something that popped into my mind after reviewing the “Travel” description above. Remember, many in the entertainment industry have suffered from loneliness, depression & anxiety among other things. Between traveling/being alone quite a bit, trying to constantly improve, worrying what organizers/audiences think, having really bad days & other factors, it can all take a toll on you. Many entertainers are introverted and use their skills as a way to connect & communicate. However, once the show is over, they’re left with themselves and their thoughts. While a performer’s high may be effective, sometimes you don’t feel it and you simply question if your performance was good, if you could create something better or a number of other things. Remember, it takes time to get to the levels you’re aspiring to achieve and you should always have 1-3 people you can refer to when things get rough. I’ve spoken to some of my entertainer friends who are much more popular/wealthy than myself & even they admit to experiencing these same issues. It’s ok, you’re not alone but you should be aware this is something you could experience. If, for any reason, you feel there’s no help or want to hurt yourself, please contact the suicide hotline as soon as you read this: 1-800-273-8255 (or google “National Suicide Prevention Hotline” to chat with someone online).

This week’s video goes over some of the personal pros/cons I’ve experienced in this field…

***CONCLUSION***

The entertainment industry is huge and still going. Yes, it can be lucrative. Yest, it does have the potential to provide you a fun & stable income. Is it for you? That’s ultimately for you to decide.

HypnoKick was created to help those interested in hypnosis to understand the psychology and workings behind it. While HypnoKick provides some of the most thorough home-based trainings at the cheapest prices, your success is ultimately dictated by your personal aspirations, ambitions & actions.

As always, if you’re ready to jump into learning basic hypnosis/ street hypnosis/ hypnotherapy or stage hypnosis from the comfort of your home at your own pace, HypnoKick has you covered: CLICK HERE!